Saltworks Technologies launches its Flex EDR product line after achieving economic zero liquid discharge (ZLD) on challenging wastewater at a US chemical plant

RICHMOND, British Columbia, Feb. 23, 2018 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- Saltworks Technologies achieved economic zero liquid discharge (ZLD) at a US chemical plant, treating challenging saline wastewater to 99.9% recovery. The chemicals facility engaged Saltworks to rapidly deliver a pilot program that would remove salt from their effluent, helping to meet a discharge cap on total dissolved solids.

The team targeted the highest salinity stream in the plant for salt removal. This concentrated stream, which also contained high organics and biological growth potential, was poorly suited for reverse osmosis (RO). Project leader Derek Mandel commented, "RO is the workhorse of desalination and we use it widely, however, the RO membrane fouling risk was too high with this wastewater. Extensive and uneconomic pre-treatment would have been required. This is why we worked with the client to test the second most popular membrane desalter – EDR." EDR, or electrodialysis reversal, is an established water technology with more than half a century of industrial applications.

Flex EDR successfully extracted 89% of the salt load, surpassing the 75% goal. This de-risks the plant's water balance and permit obligations. Downstream of Flex EDR, the concentrated brine was treated with the SaltMaker Evaporator Crystallizer to achieve 99.9% net water recovery in a modular package that produced solid byproduct. The solids were sent to non-hazardous landfills for safe, low-cost disposal.